Blog Archives

Other than the fact that both are regarded as a type of sport, there would seem to be no common denominator between chess and volley-ball. Volley-ball entails physical effort, on a large court, usually out-doors and requires a ball. Chess…

Iran made headlines this month not just because of its Olympic achievements, but also because of its unprecedented decision to choose a female athlete – trailblazing wheelchair archer Zahra Nemati, a former Paralympic gold medalist who qualified for Rio –…

Has anything changed since Iran announced (way back in April) that it would finally overturn its ban on women in sports stadiums in the wake of the global furor over the arrest of British-Iranian “volleyball prisoner” Ghoncheh Ghavami? Since April,…

Last month, in the wake of the international uproar over the arrest of British-Iranian “volleyball prisoner” Ghoncheh Ghavami, Iran announced that it would finally overturn its ban on women in sports stadiums – and dismiss the case against Ghavami, who…

The international community has learned the hard way in recent weeks that the Middle East is not the best place to be a Western journalist. The English-language press has been anxiously following the news out of Syria and Iraq, where…